01 · the cities
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 88 cities pretending to be one, connected by freeways and a shared love of really good tacos. Every neighborhood is its own scene: surfers in Venice, the Korean grandmas of K-town, mountains rising behind Pasadena, Persian rugs in Westwood. The light at golden hour is so good it makes Instagram filters jealous. Roll the windows down at golden hour, put on a playlist, and let the city stretch out.
full dispatch→Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice (446, and locals will tell you the exact number), three rivers crashing together downtown, and a sandwich tradition where the fries go inside. The mills are long gone but the neighborhoods they built (Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip) still feed you like a great aunt. Carnegie Mellon and UPMC turned the old industrial bones into a robotics and medical research scene. The skyline reveal coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel is the cheapest awe in America.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,899/mo
$1,473/mo
$1,426/mo less than Los Angeles (97%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.0M
$223k
$807k less than Los Angeles
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,659/mo
$6,605/mo
Pittsburgh has $1,946/mo more gross after rent at $100k
Gross left after rent reflects state income tax but not federal, based on $100k salary. Enter your salary to find your ideal city.
03 · the weather
Pleasant days/yr
Pleasant days/yr
283 days
161 days
122 fewer than Los Angeles
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
28 days
days below 20°F per year
Los Angeles has 19 more days above 95°F each year than Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh drops below 20°F on 28 more days per year than Los Angeles.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
67 / 100
69 / 100
2.0 pts ahead of Los Angeles
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
150 routes
37 routes
113 fewer direct routes than Los Angeles
Metro size
Metro size
12.8M metro
2.4M metro
Los Angeles has 4.4x more events per month than Pittsburgh.
the verdict
3
Los Angeles
categories won
6
Pittsburgh
categories won
Pittsburgh wins on money. Los Angeles has the edge on weather.
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